Notes: The arc begins between one and two years after Endless Waltz.
Duo POV in this story.

'Thinking'
"Speaking"
*** Time passing or scene change

Author's Notes: This is part of an arc of stories. I don't know for sure
how many stories there will be or how often I'll be posting them. The length
of each story in the arc will vary, anywhere from ficlet to multi-part.
Warnings will vary from story to story as well, as will the genre. Pairings
will eventually make their way in. Feedback is appreciated.

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Feeling distinctly uneasy, Duo looked from the open door of Heero's empty
office to the closed one of Hilde's. 'Shit, she better not have decided
to make any of her snide remarks,' he thought unhappily. 'I thought I got
through to her about that, but I can't think of a single good reason for
Heero to be in her office with the door closed. And considering how abrupt
she is with him, I can't imagine him deliberately seeking her out...'

Before Duo could decide whether or not to go knock on the door, it opened.
Heero exited the room first, looking somewhat tense, followed by Hilde.
Who wouldn't look him in the eye. 'Fuck. What did she say to Heero that's
bad enough she won't even look me in the face?'

"Heero?" Duo said questioningly.

Heero shook his head in a clear signal to let it go for now. "We
need to get going, Duo. We have to drop these papers off at the courier
service on the way home."

"O-o-k-a-ay..." Duo answered, gaze darting back and forth between
his two friends. Hilde simply continued out of the building and into the
house next door without even speaking to him.

Following Heero into his office where he was putting the paperwork into
an envelope, Duo asked, "What's going on, Heero? Did Hilde..."

"Don't blame Hilde," Heero interrupted him, "I deliberately
sought her out. I needed to know what her problem with me was. She told
me. We have - I hope - reached an understanding. I won't say it was a particularly
pleasant experience, because it wasn't. For either of us. But I think it
was necessary."

Heero set the envelope down on the desk very precisely, then turned towards
Duo and said hesitantly, "But I could really use a hug from my best
friend right now."

Duo didn't know quite what to think of Heero's explanation, but he knew
just what to do in answer to that final statement. As his arms closed around
Heero and he felt the iron tension of Heero's muscles, he realized that
the statement that it was not "a particularly pleasant experience"
was obviously somewhat of an understatement. But it didn't take very long
for the tension to drain away under the influence of the hug, so things
couldn't have gotten too ugly. He hoped.